The Portland daily press., 1887-05-28
a NEW ASPARAGUS.
Are the Fruits of the North All Found7
The origin Of Our Vegetables.
rLondon Standard

Inc announcement tnat q new ana splen-
did variety of asparagus has been dis cover
ed on the steppes Of Akhal-Tekiz may per-
haps impart to these recent acquisitions OF
Russia more interest that they have hitherto
been reckoned to possess. IL the man who
makes two blades Of grass grow where only
one grew before Is public benefactor, sure
by the discoverer of fresh variety Of so lnval-
liable a vegetable as asparagus deserves the
gratitude reserved for the greatest Of philan-
thropists. 1t is possible. indeed, that the
thanks Of the world might have been more
lavish had this gift brought us from Central
Asia been more generally popular. 1t Is a
stigma ON our age that asparagus is not .
vegetable in universal demand; but to those
who are capable Of approaching its degener-
ate relative so long and so fayorably known
in Europe, the new variety would seem to
lack little as regards size and abundance.
We are told that IL grows perfectly wild, and
the stalks are affirmed to be nearly as thick
as mans arm, and to attain height OF i've
TO six feet. One Of them, indeed, Is said 10
be large enough to supply ten Russian sol
diers with a sufficient meal, and as the flavor
Is described as equal TO that Of the best Eu-
r0pean kinds, Ii Is not unlikely that for a
time at least the armies OF the Car may be
asked TO adopt vegetarian regimen. SO far
there Is nothing incredible in the tale that
reaches US. The vast uplands OF Central
Asia are still only partially known, and du-
ring the progress Of the recent Boundary
Commission the botanists Of the party noted
more than one plant which might form
useful addition to the scanty supplies Of these
regions. But whether the new variety Of as
paragus is actually a new form, or only an
enlarged edition Of the old one, still remains
to be settled. The natural science Of soldiers
Is not very trustworthy, and 1t does not ueces-
sarily follow that because the asparagus de-
scribed grows wild in the Akhal-Tekiz coun-
try, 1t Is, like the camel which Colonel Pre-
Jevalsky discovered in the same region, an
actually unknown species. The asparagus
has long been known TO grow on the Russian
steppes in such abundance that it is eaten by
horses and cattle like grass. 1t Is, therefore.
not impossible that the plant described Is
simply an eastern extension Of our familiar
vegetable. or even some entirely different
plaut, which, owing perhaps to some fancied
likeness has enormously received that name.
The "PruSstan asparagus" Is, for instance,
not an Asparagus at all, but the Orpith0gd-
luDl pyrendicun, which In the vicinity Of
Bath Is so abundant that its shoots are col
lected in the spring, and brought to. market
as a substitute for the true asparagus.
AT the same time, IL Is by no means inered-
ible that as we travel farther East new form
before long this will be on sale In COvent-
garden. The genus includes many species,
though only one Is cultivated. Whence we
originally obtained 1t Is not very clear. The
Greeks and Romans used 1t as early as the
time Of Cate the Elder-that Is, more than
two thousand years ago-and most likely they
taught the British barbarians the utilization
of this as Of many other plants. III Is still
common in Southern Europe, and Pliny mem
tons that In his day wild sort that grew
near Ravenna produced three heads that
weighed pound-a robust herb certainly,
though Inferior TO the one Of which tidings
have just come from.the Turkoman country.
In England 1t grows, to all appearance wild,
in many places near the sea, such as the Isle
OF Portland and Kynance Cove, near the Liz
ard. But 1t Is confined to our western and
southwestern shores, and in Ire land to the
coast OF Wexford and Waterford. The
chances, therefore, are that Ii was from the
wla native plants that the early gardeners
wrote in 1897, mentions 1t as one Of the gar
den vegetables In common use, and as far
back as 1870 forced asparagus was supplied
to the London markets. At that time, how
ever 1t was more In favor with the physicians
than with the cooks, and though no longer
retained in the pharmacopeia, old-fashioned
doctors still consider IL worth prescribing In
certain diseases. Whether cultivation has
improved 1t is doubtful. There Is delicate
flavor In Asparagus that's apt TO be lessoned.
II not lost, under the coddling Of the forcing
beds. Just as.the characteristic taste Of the
wild turkey Is absent from the bird Of the
barnyard, the garden Asparagus Is declared
by those who are gifted with palate to be
so markedly inferior to.the wild plant that
the difference can at once be detected. This
difficulty is, however, one thatwe must put
up with, for we can not depend upon the
wild supply; All the Asparagus that grows
wild along the western shores Of Great Brit
ain would not keep London going for week,
and even the waving steppes Of Akhal-Tek
would speedily be shorn Of their ample sup
plies were they called upon TO meet the de-
L. "a. ia
Of the growers for the London market, In
places like Mortlake and Battersea, where
the soil Is peculiarly favorable for its eulti-
walton, have as much as one hundred acres
under this crop, and certainly the appearance
Of the civilized plant is considerably different
from that oflthe savage one. 1t is In the first
place larger, and, in the next, the shoots, in
stead Of being, as In the wild state, not much
thicker than goose-quill, are often half an
inch in diameter, and four or five feet in
height. This circumstance lends countenance
to the contention that the Akhal- Tekiz plant
Is new variety of species, for the wild as
paragus is rarely more than a foot high, and
even under all the advantages offered II BY
the gardeners, never attains statue which.
according to the account we have quoted IS
reached by the Central Asian one;
The world has been so thoroughly ranSdck-
ed that it is almost vain tolexPeet many new
our our present store. And Asia, at any rate,
is not the region from which great deal Is
to be drafted, unless, indeed. the exploration
Of the country inhabited by that mysterious
race, the Katfirs of the Hindoo kOOsh,
should yield us something. Most Of the yege-
tables in our gardens are OF very old date.
The potato, OF which we are always being
promised new varieties from various parts
OF North and South America, was introduced
at period which can be approximately set
tied; but where the radish came from Is like
ly to remain doubtful point. 1t Is not found
in the wild state, and has been so long In eul-
tivatiOn that 1t was extensively grown In the
gardens of the Pharaohs, though 1t does not
seem to have reached England until little
over three centuries ago. The cardoon was
cultivated in England fully two hundred
years ago, and is known to be native OF
Northern Africa and Southern Europe, and
the globe artichoke came into this country
from Italy more than three centuries ago.
though in reality its native country Is the
| Barbary States. But the Jerusalem" arti-
| choke-the "Girasole Articocco" Of the
Italians, from whose gardens the rest OF Eu-
rope obtained it's not known in wild state
the story OF its being native OF Brazil not
coming within the statements worthy Of
/ much credit. Our endless varieties OF cabbage
may possibly all owe their parentage to the
| wild brassica of the cliffs and sea shore,
| that 1t is difficult to trace IN broccoli, Gull
/ flower, Brussels sprouts, kale, k0hl-rabi, sa-
voys, and so forth, much .enblance to the
original wildllngs with which they are Affirm
Il
| which New Zealand has furnished new va
/ riety, though not from the same plant as ours
lis another founding. 1t has been Guilt
| waited in this country for more than three
hundred years. although noticed In Turn
er's Herbal" published In 1868, as IAN erb
lately found, and not much in use, =" its native
country is unknown, though Western Asia
has been suspected TO have the right to claim
it, The vegetable-marrow Is thoughtto come
from Persia, and the tomato Is known TO
have been brought from South America.
But it is impossible to affirm with any APP
| preach to accuracy that the origin Of the gar
den lettuce can be traced to a wild plant,
though again Western Asia Is belieYed 10
have been the land from which IL was intro
duced. Equally vain Is 1t TO seek for the
original home Of the onion, and though the
leek Is said to be native Of Switzerland,
there is no room for holding to that belief.
More probably ii came from the East, where
ii was in use at very early date. The shal-
lot came from the neighberho0d OF Ascalon,
from which its English, and still more obVi-
ously its French, name Is derived. The gar
lie is wild In the countries where 1t Is held In
most favor, the chiye Is a British plant, and
the rOcambole Is an emigrant from Denmark
though whether it Is indigenous to that
| country admits of two opinions. According
ly, IL Akhal-Tekiz Is to send us a new form
Of asparagus, the arrival Of the distinguished
stranger will be an event in the culinar,
world of sufficient importance TO console u
for some of the political uneasiness whicl
has lately arisen from that quarter.